Chapter 83: Helping Gabriel Quit Her Gaming Addiction, Cognitive Dissonance?

"Haruto-kun, this is illegal intrusion!"

Gabriel tried to protest.

Meanwhile, Haruto scanned the apartment and felt his sanity take a hit.

Gabriel's apartment was now a chaotic mess.

Thick curtains were tightly drawn, blocking all sunlight and plunging the room into darkness. Snack wrappers and other trash were scattered everywhere. The only source of light was the computer screen on the small desk, running a popular game.

How Gabriel had turned her apartment into this hellscape in just one day was beyond comprehension.

At the same time, Gabriel herself exuded a strong aura of a depressed shut-in otaku.

The girl who once had a gentle smile and could emit holy light to heal people's hearts seemed to have vanished like a bubble.Now, Gabriel, with her messy blonde hair, had a few strands sticking up and swaying.

Dark circles heavily weighed under her eyes, making it look like she hadn't slept for three days and nights.

"Gabriel, skipping class to play games, is that really okay?"

Gabriel, with her messy hair sticking up, really wanted to tell Haruto, "This has nothing to do with you."

But feeling Haruto's sharp gaze, Gabriel shrank her neck, completely unable to say the words out loud.

She had a feeling that if she actually said it, something terrible would happen.

"Gabriel, go to class."Haruto said in a deep voice.

Gabriel hesitated at his words.

She didn't want to go to class at all; she just wanted to stay home and play games. But Haruto was terrifying!

Suddenly, an idea struck Gabriel."Hey, Haruto, you see, I actually have quite a talent for esports."

Standing up, Gabriel patted her chest.Unfortunately, given her flat figure, the motion caused no ripple whatsoever.

Haruto narrowed his eyes.

He had already guessed what Gabriel was about to say.

"So instead of going to class, I'd rather develop my talent and one day become a professional esports player!"

A complete lie!

Gabriel just wanted to stay home and play games.

Even if she truly had extraordinary talent, she would never actually step onto the path of professional gaming.

Haruto squinted his eyes and stared at Gabriel, making her feel extremely guilty.

"Gabriel, I don't believe you have any so-called esports talent."Haruto stated bluntly.

Gabriel's eyes flashed with cunning.

"Oh? So you're denying my dream, Haruto? In that case, if you can beat me in a game, I'll admit it!"Gabriel pointed at the computer screen."

This game—if you beat me, I'll immediately give up on gaming and obediently go to class with you, no complaints. But in return, if you can't win, then you have to acknowledge my talent and stop trying to drag me to class!"

As she spoke, Gabriel's lips curled up uncontrollably.

Plan successful!

"Alright."

Haruto nodded.

"Then hurry up!"

Gabriel said excitedly.

However, Haruto shook his head.

"It's not me who's going to play against you."

Gabriel tilted her head in confusion.

Then she saw Haruto walk out of her apartment and head to the one next door, his own apartment.

Leaning against the window, Gabriel watched, feeling puzzled.

Could it be that Haruto had some gaming expert at home? Then she saw Haruto walk out, carrying a white-haired loli in his arms.

Gabriel: !

As Haruto walked into the room holding the girl, Gabriel's gaze darkened with slight annoyance.

"Haruto, are you seriously making this little girl play against me?"

Gabriel was dissatisfied.

She had planned to crush a noob and get Haruto off her back. But bringing in a child, wasn't that disrespecting her gaming skills?

Haruto nodded.

Meanwhile, the girl in Haruto's arms, Shiro, looked half-asleep, her eyes barely open.

She had played until early morning, only stopping when the power was cut, forcing her to sleep. Later that night, she had sneaked into Haruto's room, wasting even more sleep time.Now, being carried out so early, her brain was still in sleep mode.

Haruto placed Shiro on a cushion next to Gabriel and stuffed a game controller into her hands.

"Alright, you can start now."

Haruto announced.

Gabriel: !?

"Her eyes aren't even fully open yet! Haruto, are you mocking me!?" Gabriel protested.

Haruto shrugged.

"This arrangement benefits you, doesn't it? What are you complaining about? Just start the game."

Gabriel shot Haruto a resentful glare, muttered,

'I'm an angel, you know! Don't underestimate me! I'll make you both pay for this!'

After all, Gabriel was an angel!

She had only been playing this game for a little over a day. But with her quick reflexes and superhuman hand speed, she was already a high-level player!

However, upon hearing Gabriel's muttering, Haruto suddenly frowned.

'Angel?'

The game started.

Shiro, looking drowsy, barely opened her eyes, just enough to make out some information, her fingers moving purely on instinct."Take this! Take this! I, Gabriel, am super strong! A mere- wait! What the heck is this?! Stop, no, don't—!"

No suspense whatsoever.

In this game, a match usually lasted about three minutes. Even if one player dominated the other, it would still take about a minute to finish.

But Shiro, practically asleep, ended the match in 42 seconds.

Gabriel, aside from moving and attacking a little at the beginning, spent the rest of the match with her hands off the keyboard, screaming in despair.

To make matters worse, Shiro's half-asleep combo included a taunt emote.

"Weak!"

Now, on the game's results screen, that taunt was displayed in large letters.

"Brother, can I go back to sleep now?"

Shiro snuggled into Haruto's arms, closing her eyes, not even sparing a glance at her opponent.

Gabriel sat on the floor, her eyes dull, looking utterly defeated.

"H-How could this happen… She was definitely cheating! There's no way!"

Shattered by the loss, Gabriel mumbled to herself. Haruto, holding Shiro, refocused.

"Gabriel, are you ready to keep your promise and go to class?"

Gabriel, still in her pale, broken state, forced a smile uglier than crying."How about… best two out of three?"

That wasn't part of the original deal, and she was obviously stalling.

But… whatever.

"Shiro, play one more round."

Haruto whispered into her ear.

"Ugh, so annoying… I don't want to leave brother's arms..."

She muttered.

Then she found a way to play without leaving Haruto's embrace.

She lifted her small feet and peeled off her white silk socks, exposing her delicate, fair toes. Her white, tender feet looked like warm jade, making people want to hold them, stirring a strange temptation.

With her soft little feet, she skillfully pressed the controller buttons. "Alright, let's begin." Shiro said.

Gabriel: !?

Her previously dim eyes reignited with determination.

"I'll make you regret this!"

Playing with her feet, if it wasnt an insult,

I dont know what is!

I'll make her eat those words, after all I am an ang-

"Weak!"

This time, the match lasted 30 seconds. The taunt popped up again. Game over.Gabriel cried.

She cried hard.

She had been utterly destroyed by a loli… using her feet. Gabriel began questioning the meaning of life, her place in the universe, and whether time was even real…

"Shiro, good job!"

Haruto praised, patting Shiro's head. She tilted her head up, smiling with sleepy eyes, enjoying the head pats.

No one cared about the devastated loser in the corner.

"Brother, my socks."

Shiro lifted her small feet.

Haruto was about to refuse and tell her to put them on herself. But Shiro expertly acted cute and whined.

Since Shiro was adorable, her technique was super effective.

After hesitating, Haruto picked up the white silk socks, took hold of her soft little foot, and began putting them back on.

As his fingers brushed against her ankle, the sensation was…

Alright, if I keep talking, I'll end up in jail.

Carrying Shiro back to the apartment, Haruto returned and glanced at Gabriel, who looked like she was in a monochrome painting.

"Gabriel, we're going to be late. Let's go."

"Mm..."

Gabriel's response was lifeless.

She had been forcibly cut off from her internet addiction.

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The two of them walked toward Sōbu High School. On the way, Haruto suddenly asked,

"Gabriel, earlier you said... you were an angel?"

Gabriel, who had been in a daze, instantly trembled all over.

"Uh... that... hahaha, I was just rambling nonsense."

She tried to brush it off. There were very strict rules in Heaven—angels who entered the human world were not allowed to reveal their identity to humans.

She had already slipped up, which was a serious violation.

"Gabriel, let me teach you something. In situations like this, if you just admit it openly and make some bizarre declarations, you can actually get away with it, because people will just think you have a severe case of chūnibyō. But if you vaguely deny it, it'll just make them more suspicious."

Haruto explained.

Now he was certain—Gabriel really was an 'angel.'

This kid had absolutely no sense of scheming. However, despite Gabriel being an anomaly, the anomaly detection system hadn't even been triggered. She must have been classified as a Level 0 Safe anomaly.

Gabriel was humanoid and didn't affect other people's perception. So whether she was contained or not didn't really matter. But compared to Gabriel herself, Haruto realized there was a bigger issue.

An honor student angel had become a lazy shut-in overnight just because of video games.

This plot... felt oddly familiar to Haruto.

It was like he had seen an anime with a similar storyline before. But for some reason, he had no memory of Gabriel.

If it was an anime he had watched in his past life, why couldn't he remember Gabriel's name?

If it wasn't, then why did it feel so familiar?

There was a contradiction in Haruto's perception. And Haruto's perception was protected by a divine fragment, it had cognitive immunity!

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A/N:

(Someone asked about Project Phoenix, thinking that a consciousness transfer combined with a cloned body would mean the person is no longer the original. No need to overthink this. None of the heroines or important characters will be killed. Project Phoenix is just a safety net for regular Foundation personnel.)